Giving Compass' Take:

• In this story from India Development Review, author Smarinita Shetty assesses the assumption that as wealth grows in India so will philanthropy. She finds that, despite some evidence which seems to suggest the contrary, the growth of wealth in India is unrelated to the growth of philanthropy.

•What must change in India to convert economic growth into philanthropic growth? For new organizations interested in creating giving markets for either retail or high-value philanthropy, what might they model their product off of?

• To learn about the "India Philanthropy Report 2019", click here.

While the number of Indians giving more than INR 10 crore during the year rose from 27 in 2016 to 39 in 2018, the average donation size actually reduced from INR 86 crore to INR 40 crore.

Over the years, Azim Premji has single-handedly shored up these numbers: He gave INR 8,000 crore in 2013, INR 12,316 crore in 2014 and INR 27,514 crore in 2015.

The number that gets everyone excited and optimistic about Indian philanthropy is the INR 36,000 crore number in 2015-16 contributed by individual philanthropy. It shows a 6X jump from the 2011 data, the highest when compared to others—CSR at 1.5X, foreign funding at 2.4X.

However if one breaks down the INR 36,000 crore in the period April 2015-March 2016, it is highly likely that INR 27,514 crore came from Mr. Premji alone 45; which means that other Indian philanthropists gave just around INR 8,500 crore.  When this number is compared to INR 6,000 crore in FY 2011, the jump is more modest at 41 percent and lower than the pace at which CSR and foreign funding grew, during that five year period.

Read the full article about philanthropy by Smarinita Shetty at India Development Review